Margaret Thatcher dies at 87

Britain’s first and only female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, passed away today. What legacy did she leave for women in politics?

Margaret Thatcher, one of the most notable British politicians of all time, had famously predicted: “There will never be a female prime minister in my lifetime.” Little did she know that just a few years later, she would be the one proving herself wrong.

Britain has always been a culture comfortable with matriarchy. Victoria and both Elizabeths remain our most cherished monarchs, and The Iron Lady, as Margaret Thatcher came to be known, was regarded somewhat regally herself. Today, no politician polarizes debate more fiercely; but whether you loved her or hated her, nobody would forget or ignore her.

Margaret Thatcher was infamously pragmatic when it came to her achievements in politics. She eschewed feminism and did nothing to actively help the careers of other women in politics. Yet in doing so, she perhaps did something of even greater importance; set an example for other women to look up to.

Say what you want about Margaret Thatcher, but everything she achieved in politics she achieved herself; and that is the sort of woman who deserves success in politics.

In our modern era, too many people complain about the lack of women in positions of political authority, but their short-sighted efforts to redress that balance undermine their position, rather than strengthen it.

In Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed female-only candidates during the election to get more women into parliament; but they were derided as “Blair’s babes” and mocked for having been given their positions due to their gender, rather than having earned them do to their skills and tenacity as politicians.

In America, feminists decry successful female politicians like Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin; yet they managed to achieve notable things without relying on efforts to “balance” the system. In contrast, the most famous female Democrat, Hilary Clinton, built her entire political career off the back of sharing her last name with a popular former president.

Margaret Thatcher asked for no special treatment, and got none. She rose from being a humble shop-keeper’s daughter to being the most infamous woman in modern political history without anybody giving her special opportunities because she was a woman.

She swam in the waters of politics when it was even more fiercely a “man’s world” and didn't just survive, but thrive. She beat the men at their own game, on a level playing field, and that means her political legacy means more than any female politician who’s come since.